In the 1960s, birth control pills became available to the general public and they would vastly change human behaviour and society. But women were still being tricked.
One of the gynaecologists who was involved in creating the pill, John Rock, was a Catholic and he knew that the approval of the Catholic Church would be needed in order for many Catholics to use the pill.
So, the pill needed to appear to be "natural" and based on the hormones already present in the female body. This is why the five fake, placebo pills were added to birth control packets. These pills did nothing and had no benefit; they were simply part of a failed attempt to get the pope's approval.
The FDA approved the pill in 1968 but Pope Paul VI declared that all forms of "artificial" contraception, were against church doctrine when he issued “Humanae Vitae". The pope argued, in relation to women, that, artificial contraceptive methods would "......reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires." There was no mention of a woman's own desires in the matter.So, the pill needed to appear to be "natural" and based on the hormones already present in the female body. This is why the five fake, placebo pills were added to birth control packets. These pills did nothing and had no benefit; they were simply part of a failed attempt to get the pope's approval.
Contraceptive pills |
Pope Paul VI |
Strangely, even though those fake pills were put there to appease the pope, with the pills imitating the natural menstrual cycle, they were left there after the pope's rejection of the pill. So that, for almost 60 years, women using the contraceptive pill have been having a totally unnecessary period each month, which provides no health benefit what-so-ever.